Tag Archives: 930

Intercooled IMSA GTO Racer – Porsche 934/5 930 770 0954

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Two years after the introduction of the Porsche 930 street car marketed as the 911 Turbo Porsche manufactured a run of 400 Porsche 934 street cars mandated by a set of rules known as Group 4 in order that it’s customers could compete with a 550 hp race version of the 934 in 1976.

In 1977 Porsche built a further 10 white 934/5’s for it’s US customers who raced to the more liberal IMSA GTO series, aside from differences in the front and rear wheels arches and the rear wing which supplemented the tea tray spoiler the 934/5 was fitted with an intercooler which helped cool the combustion charge and raised the output to 600hp at 7000 rpm.

Porsche 934/5, Niello Serrano Concours d’Elegance

George Dyer took delivery of 934/5 #930 0954 in 1977 to supplement the non turbo charged 911 Carrera RSR which he had been racing since 1973 and co drove to victory in the 1977 Sebring 12 Hours with Brad Frisselle.

Records at RacingSportsCars.com show George raced the 934/5, which I believe to be today’s featured car, on nine occasions in 1977 with a win in the 250 mile Paul Revere race at Daytona being the cars stand out success.

Porsche 934/5, Niello Serrano Concours d’Elegance

Current owner Bruce Canepa raced #0954 once in 1978 finishing 7th at Sears Point before driving the car with Rick Mears and Monte Shelton to a third place finish in the 1979 Daytona 24 hours which seems to have been the cars final race appearance.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for arranging for me to share these photo’s of the car taken by Karl Krause at Niello Serrano Concours d’Elegance a couple of years ago.

Thanks for joining me on this “Intercooled IMSA GTO Racer” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a Jaguar powered special that anticipated the arrival of the E-Type Jaguar. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Anny-Charlotte Ralph And Bob – Porsche 935 K3/80 #009 00030

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It is quite perverse to try and write a comprehensive story about today’s featured Porsche 935 chassis #009 00030 which took part in 6 Daytona and 4 Le Mans 24 hour races, winning the former with Bob Garretson, Bobby Rahal and Brian Redman at the wheel in 1981 and hitting headlines around the world when Rolf Stommelen, Dick Barbour and a certain Paul Newman drove the car to a second place finish at Le Mans in 1979 in a single blog, so I will focus on some of the cars highlights, owners and star drivers for now.

Porsche 935 K3/80, Verney, Kent-Cooke, Garretson, Le Mans

Rolf, Dick and Paul proved their result at Le Mans was no fluke when they finished second on the cars second appearance in the ’79 Watkins Glen 6 Hour race.

French driver Anny-Charlotte Verney shared #009 00030 for the first timeApple, on it’s final appearance carrying customer Porsche 935/77A bodywork, with Bob Garretson and Skeeter McKitterick for a 9th place finish in the 1980 Daytona 24 hour race.

At the Sebring 12 Hour race #009 00030 was fitted with Kremer Brothers K3 bodywork which carried sponsorship from Apple Computer and was driven to a 7th place finish by Bob, Bobby Rahal and Canadian Kees Nierop.

At Le Mans in 1980 Bob and Bobby were joined by Australian Alan Moffat to qualify 14th on the grid but piston failure led to the cars only Le Mans retirement after it had completed 134 laps.

After winning the Daytona 24 hours in 1981 the same winning Bob, Bobby and Brian trio finished 17th from 4th on the grid in the 1981 Sebring 12 Hours.

Part owner Bob Garrettson, with Ralph Kent-Wood, stepped back from the driving seat to allow Bobby and Brian to share the wheel to finish 3rd and 4th at Riverside and Laguna Seca.

The #009 00030 was then shipped to Le Mans where owners Bob and Ralph teamed up with British Petrolium (BP) sponsored Anny-Charlotte Verney to set a qualifying time of 3 min 55.150, good enough for 33rd spot on the grid.

Anny-Charlotte sharing the car for the second time with Bob and Ralph drove the car, seen above 23 hours into the race, to 6th place finish.

The car remained competitive for the remainder of the 1981 IMSA season which included a 3rd place finish with Bob, Rick Mears and Johnny Rutherford in the 1981 Watkins Glen 6 hour race.

In 1982 Bob was joined at the wheel of #009 00030 by Columbian Mauricio DeNarvaez and Jeff Wood at Daytona where they finished 3rd in the season opening 24 hours race.

Bob teamed up with Anny-Charlotte for a third time in #009 00030 for the 1982 Le Mans 24 Hours and they were joined by Ray Ratcliff for the cars final Le Mans start, from 43rd on the grid they salvaged an 11th place finish.

Wayne Baker bought #009 00030 for the 1983 season and converted it from twin turbo 935 spec to single turbo 934 spec and ran it with a loose interpretation of 934 bodywork at Daytona where he drove the car with Bob and Jim Mullen to a 9th place finish and in the 1983 Sebring 12 hours where Kees replace Bob and with Wayne and Jim scored the cars second and final outright victory.

At the end of 1983 #009 00030 was returned to full twin turbo 935 K3 spec and on it’s fifth appearance in the Daytona 24 hours was driven by Wayne, Jim and Tom Blackaller to a 5th place finish from 12th on the grid, from the same position on the grid at Sebring the same trio finished a season high 4th.

#009 00030’s final appearance in the Daytona 24 hours was in 1985 when Jack Newsum, Chip Mead and Ren Tilton joined Wayne for a 9th place finish from 28th on the grid.

Midway through 1985 Chester Vincentz bought the car and converted it back to single turbo 934 spec and ran it IMSA GTO events with a 934 type body in 1985 and a hybrid 935 body in 1986 and ’87 as a 930 S.

On the October 4th 1987Chester drove #009 00030 to a 12th place finish from 12th on the grid on the cars 72nd and final known in period appearance.

Thanks for joining me on this Anny-Charlotte, Bob and Ralph edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when Ferrari Friday will be making a month long return. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Cut Down Turbo Look – Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 Speedster

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In 1950 US Porsche importer Max Hoffman suggested to the factory that they build a car that could compete with English sports cars, particularly the Jaguar XK120. Porsche’s response was to build what would become the Type 540 that Hoffman dubbed the America Roadster in 1951. In order to be competitive the car was eventually built in aluminium but the cost was so great, US$4600, that only 17 were sold and everyone lost Hoffman, Porsche and the designated coachwork builder Heuer Glaser money, Heuer Glaser lost so much they went bankrupt.

Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 Speedster, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol

Despite the commercial failure of the Type 540 Hoffman convinced Porsche to have another go at producing something that could compete with the British imports to the USA adding that the cost should be below $3,000. Porsche ended up presenting a stripped down version of the 356 Cabriolet fitted with a removable windscreen for competition, a light weight soft top, for weather protection only, side curtains replaced the side windows and the car was fitted with competition type bucket seats. The Speedster was an instant success despite it’s minimal trim, even the heater was an optional extra to keep the base cost down.

Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 Speedster, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol

Speedster production continued with model upgrades in 1955 and 1957 until 1958 when the model was replaced by the slightly more opulently appointed Cabriolet D contracted to coach builder Drauz at Heilbronn.

Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 Speedster, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol

Given the success, at a cost of minimal profit margins, of the 356 Speedster it is perhaps not surprising that Porsche waited a full quarter of a century after the launch of the 911 before introducing a successor to the 356 Speedster in the form of the 911 Carrera 3.2 Speedster.

Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 Speedster, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol

In 1969 impatient with Porsche to produce a Speedster 911 Porsche enthusiast Stan Townes created a Speedster by cutting the top off a crashed 1967 911 Coupé and fitting a cut down screen as per the original 356 Speedsters. It was not until 2 years after American CEO Peter Schutz had extended the development of the 911 in 1981 that Dr Helmut Bott turned his attention to an official factory built 911 Speedster.

Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 Speedster, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol

The first public awareness of the new model came in 1987 when two prototypes appeared with removable windscreens and a number of other features including a Clubsport fiber glass cockpit surround that effectively turned the 911 into a single seat racer complete with roll hoop.

Nothing quite so radical was available when the 217 hp, option M503, 911 Carrera 3.2 Speedster went into production from January to July 1989. Two versions of the Speedster were built, 171 with the narrow body and 2,104 with the flared Porsche 930 ‘Turbo Look’ body as seen on today’s featured vehicle which is one of just 139 Speedsters equipped with the steering on the right.

Thanks for joining me on this “Cut Down Turbo Look” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow, when I be looking at one of the most radical street cars and desirable Porsches ever built. Don’t forget to come back now.

PS Some months ago I posted about a blog about a Buick Electra 225 Riviera that was supplied by Deal of Asheville NC.

Deal were taken over by Harmony Motors who operate a VW/Audi/Porsche dealership. Toni Burrell from Harmony has contacted me to let me, and you, know that Harmony are trying to raise $10,000 for the Mission Foundation Ladies Night Out breast cancer screening programme. Harmony are donating $100 for every new Volkswagen sold during October.

So if you are thinking about buying a new Volkswagen and would like to be part of the Mission Foundation Ladies Night Out fund raising drive and your anywhere near Asheville NC you better get your skates on further details can be found on this link.

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